It is well known to catalyze the alkylation of aromatics with a variety of Lewis or Bronsted acid catalysts. Typical commercial catalysts include phosphoric acid/kieselguhr, aluminum halides, boron trifluoride, antimony chloride, stannic chloride, zinc chloride, onium poly(hydrogen fluoride), and hydrogen fluoride. Alkylation with lower molecular weight olefins, such as propylene, can be carried out in the liquid or vapor phase. For alkylations with higher olefins, such as C16 olefins, the alkylations are done in the liquid phase, usually in the presence of hydrogen fluoride. Alkylation of benzene with higher olefins is especially difficult, and requires hydrogen fluoride treatment. However, hydrogen fluoride is not environmentally attractive.
The use of the above listed acids is extremely corrosive, thus requiring special handling and equipment. Also, the use of these acids might involve environmental problems. Another problem is that the use of these acids can give less than desirable control on the precise chemical composition of the product produced. Thus, it would be preferable to use a safer, simpler catalyst, preferably in solid state. This simpler process would result in less capital investment, which would result in a less expensive product.
Solid crystalline aluminosilicate zeolite catalysts have been known to be effective for the alkylation of aromatics with olefins. Zeolitic materials which are useful as catalysts are usually inorganic crystalline materials that possess uniform pores with diameters in the micropore range that is less than 20 angstroms. Zeolites occur naturally and may also be prepared synthetically. Synthetic zeolites include, for example, zeolites A, X, Y, L and omega. It is also possible to generate metaloaluminophosphates and metalosilicophosphates. Other materials, such as boron, gallium, iron or germanium, may also be used to replace the aluminum or silicon in the framework structure.
These zeolite catalyst materials are commercially available as fine crystalline powders for further modification to enhance their catalytic properties for particular applications. Processes for the further modification to enhance catalytic properties of the crystalline zeolite catalysts are well known in the art, such as forming the zeolite catalysts into shaped particles, exchanging the cations in the catalyst matrix, etc.
Forming the zeolite powders into shaped particles may be accomplished by forming a gel or paste of the catalyst powder with the addition of a suitable binder material such as a clay, an inorganic compound, or an organic compound and then extruding the gel or paste into the desired form. Zeolite powders may also be formed into particles without the use of a binder. Typical catalyst particles include extrudates whose cross sections are circular or embrace a plurality of arcuate lobes extending outwardly from the central portion of the catalyst particles.
One problem with catalyst particles used in fixed bed reactors is catalyst deactivation. In most hydrocarbon conversion processes, including alkylation, the primary catalyst deactivation is caused by coke formation. This catalyst deactivation is a serious problem in the use of zeolite catalysts for alkylation reactions. This deactivation problem is well known in the art and it is well understood that the deactivation mechanism can involve polymerization of the olefin into large molecular species that cannot diffuse out of the pores containing the active sites in the zeolitic material.
The use of zeolite catalysts for preparation of alkyl aromatics is typically conducted by the catalytic alkylation of aromatic hydrocarbons with normal alpha olefins or branched-chain olefins, and optionally a promotor. The alkylated aromatic hydrocarbons can be converted into corresponding sulfonic acids which can be further converted into alkylated aromatic sulfonates.
A number of patents have discussed processes for the preparation of zeolite catalysts and the further shaping and forming of the catalyst particles and extrudates with and without the use of binders. There are also a number of patents disclosing the use of zeolite catalysts for alkylation of aromatic hydrocarbons.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,094,383 discloses the preparation of synthetic zeolite materials which upon hydration yield a sorbent of controlled effective pore diameter and in which the sorbent and its zeolite precursor are provided directly in the form of an aggregate.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,130,007 discloses the method of preparing sodium zeolite Y with silica to alumina ratios ranging from greater than 3 to about 3.9.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,119,660 discloses a process for making massive bodies or shapes of crystalline zeolites. The patent also discloses methods for the identification of the catalyst materials using X-ray powder diffraction patterns in conjunction with chemical analyses.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,288,716 discloses that the high “heavy content” of the alkylated aromatic product can be controlled during the alkylation step and has advantages over distilling the alkylated aromatic product to obtain the desired molecular weight.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,641,177 and 3,929,672 disclose the technique to remove sodium or other alkali metal ions from zeolite catalysts. The '177 patent also discloses that such removal of the sodium or other alkali metal ions activates the zeolite catalysts for the alkylation of aromatic hydrocarbons with olefins by liquid phase reaction.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,764,533; 4,259,193 and 5,112,506 disclose the “heavy alkylate” content influences neutral sulfonates and overbased sulfonates. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,112,506, the effect of molecular weight distribution or “heavy alkylate” is shown to influence the performance of both Neutral and HOB sulfonates and the di-alkylate content is shown to influence the rust performance of the corresponding sulfonate in U.S. Pat. No. 3,764,533. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,259,193, a mono-alkylate sulfonate is preferred. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,288,716; 3,764,533; 4,259,193 and 5,112,506 are hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,777,006 discloses the use of nucleating centers for the crystallization of crystalline aluminosilicate zeolites having a size in excess of 200 microns and characterized by high strength and excellent adsorptive properties.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,185,040 discloses the preparation of highly stable and active catalysts for the alkylation of aromatic hydrocarbons with C2–C4 olefins. The catalysts are acidic crystalline aluminosilicate zeolites which exhibit much improved deactivation rates.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,395,372 discloses an alkylation process for alkylating benzene comprising contacting benzene and lower olefins with a rare earth exchanged X or Y zeolite catalyst in the presence of sulfur dioxide.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,570,027 discloses the use of a low crystallinity, partially collapsed zeolite catalyst for producing alkylaromatic hydrocarbons. The alkylation reaction also involves conditioning the catalyst bed with hydrogen prior to conducting the alkylation reaction.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,762,813; 4,767,734; 4,879,019 and 5,111,792 disclose the preparation of a hydrocarbon conversion catalyst using a low silica to alumina ratio zeolite Y bound into an extrudate and steamed to modify the catalyst.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,764,295 discloses a process for making non-foaming detergent-dispersant lubricating oil additives. The process further involves carbonation for making the products more basic.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,876,408 discloses an alkylation process using an ammonium-exchanged and steam stabilized zeolite Y catalyst having an increased selectivity for mono-alkylation the process involves the presence of at least one organic compound under conditions such that sufficient amount of carbonaceous material evenly deposits on the alkylation catalyst to substantially suppress its alkylation activity.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,916,096 discloses use of a zeolite Y catalyst for hydroprocessing. The zeolite Y catalyst comprises a modified crystalline aluminosilicate zeolite Y, a binder and at least one hydrogenation component of a Group VI or a Group VIII metal.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,026,941 discloses the use of a zeolite Y catalyst having a silica to alumina molar ratio of 15 to 110 for the alkylation of naphthalene or mono-isopropylnaphthalene.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,118,896 discloses an aromatic alkylation process comprising the steps of contacting an aromatic hydrocarbon feed with an alkylating agent under liquid phase alkylation conditions in the presence of a silica-containing large macropore, small particle size zeolite catalyst, the catalyst having a pore volume of about 0.25 to 0.50 cc/g in pores having a radius of 450 angstroms and a catalyst particle diameter of not more than 1/32 of an inch.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,191,135 discloses the process for making long-chain alkyl-substituted aromatic compounds from naphthalenes, the process comprising a zeolite alkylation catalyst in the presence of 0.5 to 3.0 weight percent water. The presence of water increases the selectivity for making mono-alkylated products.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,240,889 and 5,324,877 disclose processes for the preparation of a catalyst composition having alkylation and/or transalkylation activity and wherein the catalyst composition contains greater than 3.5 weight percent water based on the total weight of the catalyst composition and the aromatic alkylation process using said catalyst composition and olefins containing 2 carbon atoms to 25 carbon atoms.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,506,182 discloses the preparation of a catalyst composition comprising 10 to 90 percent of a modified zeolite Y catalyst formed from a modified zeolite Y and 10 to 90 percent binder using slurries of the modified zeolite Y and the binder to form the catalyst composition having a clear absorption peak in an IR spectrum of a wavelength of 3602 per centimeter. The patent also discloses the substitution of iron for the alumina in the zeolite Y structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,922,922 discloses a process for isomerizing a normal alpha olefin in the presence of an acidic catalyst having a one-dimensional pore system, and then using of the isomerized olefin to alkylate aromatic hydrocarbons in the presence of a second acidic catalyst, which can be zeolite Y having a silica to alumina ratio of at least 40 to 1.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,939,594 discloses the preparation of a superalkalinized alkylaryl sulfonate of alkaline earth metal. The alkyl group of the alkylaryl sulfonate contains between 14 to 40 carbon atoms and the aryl sulfonate radical of alkaline earth metal is fixed in a molar proportion comprised between 0 and 13% in positions 1 or 2 of the linear alkyl chain.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,031,144 discloses a process for reducing the residual olefin content of an alkylation reaction product by removing at least a portion of the non-alkylated single-ring aromatic hydrocarbon and then reacting the remaining alkylation reaction product in the presence of an acidic catalyst such as a molecular sieve or clay.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,337,310 discloses the preparation of alkylbenzene from preisomerized normal alpha olefins for making low overbased and high overbased sulfonates having a TBN in the range of 3 to 500. The process uses HF as catalyst or a solid acidic alkylation catalyst, such as a zeolite having an average pore size of at least 6 angstroms.
It is known that most solid acid catalysts produce high 2-aryl attachment when alkylating with alpha-olefins. See S. Sivasanker, A. Thangaraj, “Distribution of Isomers in the Alkylation of Benzene with Long-Chain Olefins over Solid Acid Catalysts,” Journal of Catalysis, 138, 386–390 (1992).
Two general treatises on zeolite are; Handbook of Molecular Sieves by Rosemarie Szostak (Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York 1992) and Molecular Sieves: Principles of Synthesis and Identification, 2nd Edition, by Rosemarie Szostak (Chapman and Hall, London, UK 1999).